808:88:98 (Navarre)
808 State
Bjork, James Dean Bradfield, UB40, M. Doughty, Louise Rhodes
Producer: 808 State
ZTT Records (USA), 2005
1 CD
Catalogue #: 100
EAN: 0827912024159
UPC: 827912024159
You save: 25%
808:88:98 is a greatest hits compilation, but features one new song, "Crash," and new mixes of "Pacific" and "Cubik" which will be available in the US exclusively on this release.
Additional personnel: MC Tunes, Bjork, UB40, M. Doughty, Louise Rhodes, James Dean Breadfield (vocals).
Engineers include: G. Massey, M. Haas, A. Fisch, A. Stone, D. Kadar.
Includes liner notes by John McCready.
808 State holds a position of royalty among early house and techno pioneers. Endlessly inventive, while never losing sight of their break-fueled modus operandi, 808 State was successful both artistically and within the club culture (they reportedly performed live before 14,000 people in Manchester in 1988). Evidence of their innovations is packed into this superb 16-track retrospective. Elements of ambient, hip-hop, rock, soul, and jazz are woven through the relentless dance beats contained herein.
"Pacific," the set's opener, glides along with a super-smooth electro vibe, as does the charming "Olympic" (with its simulated pitch-bending flute sound). The music often has an aggressive edge, as on the pounding "Cubik," and the hip-hop showcase "The Only Rhyme That Bites" (featuring rapper MC Tunes). 808 State were big on guest vocalists; Bjork (well before her solo career took off) graces the spooky and elegant "Ooops;" James Dean Bradfield (from Manic Street Preachers) takes a turn on "Lopez;" and UB40 gives a reggae feel to "One In Ten." Each of these cameos lends color and variety to the already genre-popping creations spun out of 808 State's techno-acid sensibility. For all but completists, 808:88:98 will be a definitive look at the work of this landmark electronica act.
Tracklist
808 State
Named after the legendary Roland drum machine, Manchester's 808 State had a profound influence on English dance music in the 1990s. On its early singles, the group coaxed furious beats out of electronic instruments and helped create a whole new vocabulary that was later incorporated into techno, jungle, and drum-and-bass. However, by the early 21st century, group members were concentrating more on remixing and producing.
Bjork
A fearless sonic adventurer, Icelandic songstress Bjork first appeared prominently on the musical map in 1988 with LIFE'S TOO GOOD, the debut album of her band, the Sugarcubes. Four years later, the group split, and Bjork wasted no time in working on solo material. In 1993, DEBUT, an innovative blend of electronica, pop, jazz, and exotica, was released to widespread acclaim, and Bjork's singular whisper-to-a-scream vocal style soon reached a much larger audience. Since then, her passion for emotional yet experimental pop songs has only increased, as her string of consistently remarkable albums and videos has revealed. Along the way she even starred in a major film, Lars Von Trier's acclaimed DANCER IN THE DARK.
James Dean Bradfield
Welsh rocker James Dean Bradfield took a sabbatical from his day job as the singer in the Manic Street Preachers and finally released his solo debut full-length, THE GREAT WESTERN, in 2006--15 years after the release of the Manics' debut. Displaying the influence of fellow Welshman John Cale, and, more surprisingly, French crooner Jacques Brel, THE GREAT WESTERN was a personal and more reflective collection of songs that still maintained the trademark energy of his day-job outfit, as well as his always notable songwriting skills.
UB40
Coming to prominence in the '80s, reggae ambassadors UB40 were not only the first British reggae band to achieve mainstream pop crossover success, but essentially the only reggae artists since the Wailers to ever break through to the US in a major way. Though their later work was softened a bit with pop production, they've always paid homage to their roots; their seminal album LABOUR OF LOVE is strictly covers of reggae classics, whose original performers they'd later collaborate with on new recordings.
